A family history of neural tube defects (NTDs) can increase the risk of a pregnancy affected by an NTD. Periconceptional folic acid use decreases this risk. Purpose: Our objective was to determine whether second-degree relatives of NTD-affected children showed differences in folic acid use compared with the general population and to provide them…

The draft Australian Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012c) takes a strengths-based approach that emphasizes questions such as "What keeps me healthy and active?" rather than "What risks, diseases and behaviours should I learn to avoid?". This…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the health literacy levels, and the potential importance of healthy literacy, of college students. Participants: Courses were randomly selected from all upper level undergraduate courses at a large Research I university to obtain a sample size of N = 399. Methods: During the 2007-2008 school year,…

Mhealth is rapidly becoming a valuable tool to increase knowledge and skills that contribute to healthy behaviors. Currently, little is known about college students' ownership and use of health apps. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduates' mhealth app usage and views. A secondary purpose was to identify any subgroup…

In this paper, the authors examined health related challenges facing Nigeria. They argued that the relationship between literacy and health in today's knowledge-based economy further puts pressure on countries like Nigeria to raise its literacy rates if it is to compete in the global market. This line of thought is based on the fact that in…

Background: Little research has examined adolescent health literacy and its relationship with online health information sources. The purpose of this study is to explore health literacy among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent population and to investigate whether exposure to a credible source of online health information, MedlinePlus[R], is…

Nursing homes are considered lagging behind in adopting health information technology (HIT). Many studies have highlighted the use of HIT as a means of improving health care quality. However, these studies overwhelmingly do not provide empirical information proving that HIT can actually achieve these improvements. The main research goal of this…

Limited resources have led to a lack of comprehensive state outreach strategies that are geared for non-English speaking constituencies. The investigators worked with Southeast Asian communities in Rhode Island to determine perceptions and levels of trust with various health authorities providing health messaging about fish-consumption practices.…

Medical and health sciences libraries have incorporated the elements of evidence-based practice (EBP) into their reference services, instruction, and online resource development for years. While EBP focuses on the use of medical and health sciences literature in the clinical environment (i.e., making decisions about how to treat a particular…

Background: This paper discusses the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention's effort to develop a web-based service called Project CREATE that responds to a need for targeted health promotion materials expressed by directors of HIV/STD prevention services in predominately rural states. Purpose: Project CREATE allows users to select customized…

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) is a national membership organization that promotes health equity and social justice through partnerships between communities and higher education institutions. In response to faculty concerns about the institutional barriers to community-engaged careers in the academy, CCPH embarked on a series of…

Health information exchange (HIE) is the process of electronically sharing patient-level information among different organizations with the objectives of quality and cost improvements. The adoption of HIE in the United States is not widespread, but numerous efforts at facilitating HIE exist and the incentives for electronic health record system…

The primary purpose of this case study was to determine if the university under study had adequate health-related programs, services, and supports in place to develop health-literate young adults. A secondary purpose was to identify strengths and gaps in these university health-related programs, services, and supports, which, if addressed, could…

Patient health literacy skills are critical to effective healthcare communication and safe care delivery in primary care settings. Methods and strategies to identify patient health literacy (HL) capabilities and provider/staff knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (KAB) regarding HL must be known before addressing provider/staff communication skills.…

Smartphone use in the United States is growing rapidly and focuses mainly on sedentary activities, such as texting, gaming, and web browsing. Therefore, it is important that educators teach students the positive health-enhancing possibilities of smartphones. Apps exist for monitoring food consumption, planning meals, calculating BMI, and recording…